Activity Purpose of "Wataboushi"-Specific Non-Profit Activity Corporation

In modernized social life, non-handicapped people lead their lives, surrounded by overflowing information. We see the circumstance where overflowing information makes often their choices difficult and doubtful. And especially, information that depends upon vision is of very critical importance and even threatens to menace life. How much information can blind or visually-impaired persons and foreigners collect in the present society? Reading aloud brailing and translation are available means to collect information. However, we do not think so much information is over flown that they can choose freely in both quantity and quality. People have the right to live their independent lives, whether they may be handicapped, non-handicapped, or foreigners. In order to protect this right, Society is obliged to distribute so much information as to allow them to select. This can also be applied to medicine information the use of which might endanger life. When blind or visually-impaired persons take medicine, supporters who can take care of them do not always stand by. When medical staffs try to extend aid to them under cooperation by volunteers whose object is to support blind or visually-impaired persons, they meet with a problem. That is, volunteers in general get impression that s the activity relating to medical treatment is always accompanied by different world that requires medical knowledge as least, It is a reason why they cannot set foot it easily, understanding the necessity to embark on this kind of activity. In the circumstances, the role of "Wataboushi" is to appeal the world for cooperation so that communication of information might be preformed smoothly and impartially, wherever people may live, by building a bridge between staffs in medical spot and people working for welfare activity. At present, Wtaboushi have been deploying their \activity, basing on the Internet (http://www.wataboushi.npo-jp.net). Through the Internet they have asked for cooperation on brailing the directions of medicine as well as other medical information and producing Braille-tag seals for patients, reading aloud and retyping in large print taking-medicine instructions or medical information for aged patients or people of low vision, and collecting medicinal bags on which the directions are written in mother languages. 1. To look for means how to process the direction of prescribed medicine and how to distribute the processed results to patients, whether they may be visually impaired or not, under coordination of K.K. Jihousha, in order to communicate them to the patients correctly and impartially. 2. To brail the directions so everyone of patients as to take medicine assuredly as prescribed, to produce Braille-tag seals under coordination of "Specific Non-Profit Activity Corporation。MACHINZUKURI Welfare Network", and to provide medical staffs with them in a way that is not burden to those staffs. 3. To perform a support activity so that Utsunomiya Light Centre(workshop for visually-impaired people) may promote their activity, introducing personal computers necessary for brailing the visiting cards and other information. Wataboushi will work on the world in cooperation to get the social systems and the social environment improved in order for blind or visually-impaired persons and foreigners to be able to support themselves. It goes without saying that cooperation by administration, corporate, and citizen is indispensable for realizing this purpose. Wataboushi have got juridical personality granted as a specific non-profit activity corporation to take the responsibility of performing above activities continuously. Wataboushi will perform a more aggressive support activity so that information including medicine information may be distributed exactly and impartially through the Internet. Wataboushi wish to ask people all　over the world to understand and give full support to their activity. 2001/06/23 ike@Fujisawa